Winter Storm David slams Connecticut

Winter Storm David arrived in Connecticut Thursday and brought with it heavy, wet snow and strong winds.

The pesky storm system arrived in the area on Thursday morning and caused a traffic nightmare for commuters across the state. Interstate 84 was shut down for hours in Tolland after multiple crashes involving tractor trailers and numerous vehicles were reported.

Chief Meteorologist Bruce DePrest said even though Winter Storm David was centered hundreds of miles off of the New England coastline, it had a very large, expansive circulation.

A band of heavy, wet snow continued to rotate around the storm through southern New England late Thursday night and into Friday morning, and that is expected to bring more headaches to commuters by the time Friday's morning rush hour is in full swing.

DePrest said the combination of the heavy snow and strong winds could also bring numerous power outages to Connecticut residents.

Winds could gust to more than 40 mph, DePrest said.

The snow and wind will continue at least until mid-morning, and total snow accumulations could range anywhere from four to eight inches across most of the state, with lesser amounts in southeastern Connecticut. In the northeastern and northwestern hills, more than eight inches could fall.

According to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, 632 state plow trucks and more than 200 contractor plow trucks are available to clear the state's roads, highways and interstates.

Interstate 95 north was closed in Clinton after a tractor trailer jackknifed. Another one did the same thing along Interstate 84 in Manchester, forcing lane closures.

When the detour was set up to avoid the Clinton mess, drivers found themselves stuck with a bigger problem after tractor trailers and other large vehicles became stuck on the unplowed roads.

Several other crashes have been reported on the state's roads, and it's unknown if anyone has been seriously injured in any of them.

Connecticut Light & Power said it would open its emergency operations center in Berlin if conditions warrant. However, United Illuminating opened its EOC facility Wednesday afternoon.

Both CL&P and UI officials said they have their outside-of-company workers on standby in case extra help is needed.

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From Chief Meteorologist Bruce DePrest in the Channel 3 Early Warning Forecast Center…